Saltwater And Lemonade
by horseygal3618
Summary: AU. All human. The decade-long friendship between Rose and Adrian is put to the test when the unexpected begins to creep up on them. The question is, can they handle it? Or are some things to big for even them?
1. Saltwater and Lemonade

Me: Sup people! Another dream rewritten for VA. Sorry if they are OOC….. Rose's POV

_'Stupid wind…'. _Thats the only thing I can think about at the moment. Well, _one _of the only things.

My name is Rose. I'm on the beach with my classmates right now. We went on a field trip

in California, and our instructor said he wanted us to have some time as a class outside of sparring,

so we took a day off to come to the beach. I'm not so happy about it because I

need all the catching up I can get after those two years of living with humans. I'd rather

be at the gym, silver steak in hand, charging towards a dummy. But _noooo_!

That would be fun. So here I am. On the beach. Freezing half to death.

_'At least he came…' _I think to myself. He being Adrian Ivashkov. He's my best friend

in the class, despite the fact we get teased all the time. Sometimes having a friend of the opposite

gender is a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. Lately I have been questioning

my feelings for him, all thanks to a stupid dream I've had every night for the last week. _'Why_

_am I even thinking about this? Its not like he'd ever actually kiss me! …. Right?'_

I hate being unsure and confused. Especially when it comes to him.

Me and Adrian have known each other from the time we were eight, so about ten solid

years. I'd love to say we were friends from the moment we met, but thats not totally true.

Things have been rocky between us. When I was ten I developed a crush on him that stuck with

me till I was eleven and a half. I remember going home and crying after being informed my

feelings we not returned like I'd dreamed. But Adrian was sweet and calm about it and

helped me get over it, and we started getting close then, I guess. I liked him for a few months

again when I was fourteen, but I shook it off because the thought of risking our friendship

scared me more than I liked him. I never liked him after that, but I'm not

sure what I think anymore. As far as I knew, I loved him like a best friend and brother,

and nothing more. Then I had all those damn dreams that ended with kissing,

falling in love, sleeping in his arms…. Ugh, way to girly for my liking.

I was very wary of coming to this beach, because my dreams have been

haunted with images of him kissing me on the sand. I remembered every

last detail. And that scared me. I don't like him in that way, do I?

I don't know anymore. "Hey, Rose!"

Speak of the devil, I turn around and he tackles me to the ground. "Good God Adrian,

you've gained some weight!" I say, smiling like an idiot.

"Or maybe I need to tackle you more so you get used to it." He

says with his signature smirk plastered to his face. _'I swear that thing is etched onto_

_his face for all eternity….' _I say. I start snickering, and he gives me a confused

look. He shakes his heard to clear his thoughts(a habit he's had for as long as I can

remember) and he climbs off of me. My lungs appreciate the release of pressure, but

I feel a wave of disappointment and longing. Next time he tackles me, I'll be sure

to savor his closeness. My thoughts are interrupted right then. "I need a break

from all this, would you mind keeping me company while I take a walk to breath?"

He asks in his velvety voice. I could listen to it all day long.

I smile at him and say yes. He surprises me by taking my hand in his and

walking with me, our backs facing the rest of the class. Little did I know

this walk would change my life and relationship with him forever.

We had been walking for around half an hour, when I asked if we could take

a break. Walking on sand tired me out for some reason, though I'd never

understood why. He nods with a smile and we sit down.

_'Why is this all so familiar to me?' _I ask myself, confused. Its not like I'd ever

been here before.

"Hey, I know how you like to stay in the loop of things, and I've

got some news; Eddie plans on asking Mia out tonight." He says to me.

"I hope she says yes, or we're in for one hell of an awkward drive back!" I say,

and we both laugh for a few moments, but he stops suddenly and I feel stupid for

laughing on my own.

"Have you ever been kissed?" He asks, and for one of the first times in my

life, I can't read what he might be thinking. Lying would be pointless, so I tell him.

"Nope. Guys are either friends with me, or they aren't gutsy enough to try me."

I say in an attempt to lighten the mood. I think I did a good job, but he doesn't react.

Not even a ghost of a smile.

"Neither have I. I feel like a loser sometimes. You and I are the only ones who

haven't. I just… Want to get it over with." He says, staring at the ocean.

I freeze as his words sink in. He surly knows what he just implied.

But then again, he's an airhead so he might not know.

After a moment, realization flashes through his gorgeous forest green eyes. He reaches up and

flicks his golden brown hair out of his eyes, but it falls right back into place and I fight the urge to

reach out and run my hands through it.

"I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said anything about it. I mean It's so stupid. Its not a big deal, just

a first kiss! Who cares really? Not me I know that!" He says, blushing. He was talking very fast,

and I know he only does that when he's:

A) nervous

B) lying

C) excited

D) all of the above

and I think its D. He looks over at me, and our eyes meet. I try to look away but

he's got me caught like a deer in headlights.

"Never speak of it to anyone." The words pass my lips before I can stop them.

"It never happened." is his response.

We start to lean in and I close my eyes. His lips meet mine, careful at first,

but something in my reaction gave him confidence, because he runs

his tongue over my lower lip, and I let him in without hesitation. His mouth tasted like

saltwater, and the mix of that with the taste of lemonade that had

lingered on my lips was the best taste in the world.

"I love you Rose." He says, staring deep in my eyes, and I knew

this was different from all the other times we'd said I love to each other.

"I love you too." And with that he pulls me into a hug, holding me

under the stars, the sound of the ocean soothing and steady in

the background….


	2. Almost Missed Flights and Cupcakes

Hi people! I think the summary said this was a one shot but the lovely sunayna4sho liked it and encouraged me to keep writing it, so heres chapter two of saltwater & lemonade!

"Folks, we'll begin our decent into the Tucson Int'l Airport in about 30 minutes. Thank you for flying with us today and we hope to see you soon!" says our overly cheery flight attendant. Whatever it is that she's shooting to be so damn perky, I want some of it. I could use a jump start. _'Who the hell wakes up for a 6 AM flight?' _I think, struggling to stay awake. Our California trips over now, and we are on our way to Arizona now. Damn, I was hoping to hang out on the beach more. "Rose, are you ok? You're all red faced now…." asks the innocent and lovely Jill Mastrono. _'God I gotta think of Adrian on my own time…' _I think, embarrassed at blushing in front of the younger girl. "I wonder if Guardian Alto and Christian are still at the airport?" she continues, oblivious to my thoughts. I hold back laughter, remembering how they missed the flight back.

_"HURRY THE HELL UP!" Lissa yells at Christian as she checks her phone for the time. The check-in lines were unusually long this morning, and we had 5 minutes to get all the way to the other side of the airport. Wasn't looking good for us. "I'm going as fast as I can fucking manage!" He yells back, getting dirty looks from some woman with young children near by. "Screw it, I'm going." I say to Liss as I turn away. Christian was going to slow, and I didn't see the point in me missing the flight because he couldn't get his lazy-ass checked in. As I take off running, I hear Lissa's footsteps following behind me. "You were _not _planning on leaving me there, were you?" She says, chastising me with her tone, but I could hear a hint of a smile in her voice. After a little while longer, we see the gate in our view. "Just throw me the ticket!" The man behind the gate computer yells at us. Without a second thought I throw my ticket and sprint faster. Lissa does the same, but her throw isn't as graceful and her pace doesn't quite match mine. Regardless, we both make it on the plane, only to find out Stan and Christian didn't. Ha, I'm glad we didn't wait for him now._

So here I am now, Jill on my right and Lissa on my left. Mason, Adrian, and Dimitri behind me, Sydney and Eddie in front of me. Lovely. I feel my seat jolt forward, and I don't have to think very hard to realized what happened. I turn around and look Mason dead in the eyes, and say in a creepy-calm voice,"Mason. If you value your life at all. You will not attempt kicking my seat again." and then I flash him one of my most dangerous smiles. Needless to say, my seat didn't get any more abuse for the rest of the flight.

After we landed, we all began saying our goodbyes. When Adrian came to say goodbye, it was slightly awkward. Neither of us were sure where our relationship stood, and we didn't know if we should hug, kiss, smile…. We settled on an awkward hug and a bit of teasing from the others. As me and Liss walked away towards our car, she started to interrogate me. "That looked so awkward! What happened? You and him used to be so comfortable together! Did he say something? Do something? What about you? Rose, please tell me you didn't do something…." She says, clearly interested in what just went down.

"Alright! I'll tell you, but don't jump to conclusions ok?" I say. She nods her head and smiles at me. "Ok… Well… Ummm.. Me and him sort of… Kissed…" I say, blushing. Whoa, when the hell did my shoes get so interesting? I shot my eyes down pretty fast, but Lissa's look of shock crossed her face before I could look away. 'O.M.G! Thats freaking awesome! Oh, maybe he likes you back! Thats-" I cut her off right there. "Likes me _BACK_? Hell, I don't even think I like him that way!" Lie. Thats a total lie. I may have been confused before the kiss, but I had no doubt in my mind anymore. "Rose, its ok. Loving someone doesn't make you weak. Me and the others have had suspicions for a while you know. We all accept it." she says. "Liss I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Its not love. Kissing someone doesn't always equal love. Though knowing I have you're blessing means a lot." I add a smile to the last part to make it more honest seeming.

She gives a smile with a knowing glint in her eyes and says "Whatever you say Rose. Oh I'm good with kids by the way. If you and Adrian ever need help with the kids…." My eyes widen in shock at what she just implied to me. Now its my turn to tease her. "Vasilisa Dragomir, I'm pretty you and Christian will be worrying about children long before me." I say smirking. "Ok point taken. Can we stop at North Star bakery on the way back? I want a cupcake." She says. "At 8 in the morning?" I say with a laugh. "8 AM, 3 AM, 11PM, doesn't matter. Its always a good time for a cupcake." She says in her voice that says I-know-you'll-get-it-so-stop-stalling. I dignify her joke with a light laugh as I start the engine to head home.

Me: Well there ya go! I know there wasn't any real Adrian/Rose interaction, but I needed to build the story some more. This was intended to be a one-shot, so it might take time to get started


	3. Blackouts and Bad News

Me:Well, I'm back again! After I write this chapter for S&W I'll start the second chapter of Battle Stripes! Mkay, here we go! Oh, I also realized some mistakes I've made. First off, this is an AU with them as humans, so its Mr. Alto not guardian Alto. Second, humans don't do silver staking. So I put them in track instead xD and Dimka is gonna have a waaaaayyyy different personality. After all, its my story and he IS 18 now :P

It's hot. Really. Freaking. Hot. The temp hasn't changed in AZ, but after going to the nice, cool weather in CA, the triple digit numbers are a shock to my system. It's been about three months but it still sucks. "Whats up? You look ready to keel over and die." says Jill, waking me from my haze. "Well, its kind of a big climate change from here and California." I reply, feeling a bit dizzy. _'I'm not dehydrated am I?' _"Well thats true. I hope you can get into shape for practice. We've got a lot of running to do." she says as she begins stretching her legs. "Lets hope Rose doesn't die on us." Liss says with a laugh. Oh no, I feel nauseous now. _'What the hell?'_ "Ah, hello Rose! How are you on this-" Adrian strikes a very weird looking pose "-_wonderful _day?" He says to me. _'Wonderful. I was weak-kneed and nauseous already. He isn't helping that at all.' _I think, worried. "Roza, you don't look so good. Are you feeling ok?" Dimitri, or as everyone calls him;Dimka, asks me shyly. "I think I'll live." I add a reassuring smile to my words. "Well, ok. Just be careful." he says, looking worried for me. I smile and nod, hoping to give him some relief.

Conversations cease when we hear the screeching whistle that signals the start of practice. "Everyone! 3 laps warm-up! Line up and get started!" Mr. Alto barks at us. We line up, and he sends us off on our way. I know within a few steps that something isn't right. I push on regardless, not wanting to seem like a slacker or a weakling. After half a lap, I see dark spots swimming in my vision, and putting on foot in front of the other turns into a challenge. The churning in my stomach starts to grow stronger, and I sweat more than I should be on a warm-up lap. All of a sudden, my legs fall out from under me. When I actually hit the ground, I'm not sure. The last thing I truly remember is a pair of warm, strong arms picking me up bridal style.

When I open my eyes, I can't see anything but bright white. After blinking a few times, I can start to see my surroundings. The nurses office…. Wait, nope. "Why am I at a hospital?" I ask, panicked. _'What the fuck happened?' _I try to remember what happened, but it was like the memories I wanted were just outside my fingertips. Like theres a gap in my mind. "Rose. We have some news. Good or bad, thats up to you." my mother says, startling me. I didn't really nonce her. Standing next to her are Lissa and, God help me, Adrian. "That was a nasty tumble, now wasn't it? Carrying you here wasn't easy either. You have a lot of muscle, you know." Adrian comments. _'That was… Him..?' _I think. I didn't notice the heat on my face, but Liss did. "Your face is red, you don't have a fever… Do you?" she asks me with a panicked endue to her voice. I begin forming my answer on the tip of my tongue, but the doctor walks in at that moment.

"No Vasilisa, she doesn't have any fever." the doctor says. "Thank you, sir." Lissa says, with the perfect manners of a Dragomir. The doctor pulls up a chair and looks at me with a look of pity on his face. I hate that. "Rosemarie-" "Rose. Just Rose." I say cutting him off. My interruption is rewarded with a slight pause, but he starts up again. "Rose, when was the last time you had any sort of intercourse?" he asks me. _'Wait. What?'_ "I'm confused…. Whats that matter?" I ask him. All eyes turn to Adrian. "Rose, you're pregnant.


	4. Flashback and A Promise

Me; Hi people! I have links to the outfits the girls wore in my profile =)

"No. Thats impossible." I say, panicked and scared. "I've never gone that far with a guy!" I yell. It's not until I start really thinking that the event of that one night slowly creep back to me….

_*Flashback*_

_"Hey Rose wait up!" Yells Dimka. I turn around and find him jogging up to me. "Mason is having a party in his dorm tonight. Any chance you can come?" he asks me hopefully. "Well what time?" I ask, my interest peaking. Mason allways throws the best parties. He smiles and says the party starts at 9, and that Liss is welcome too. I tell him I'll be there, and I turn around to return to my room. I pull out my phone to text Lissa and check the time. _'Damn, its already seven thirty?' _I think to myself. I decide to run back, as I would like to take a shower before the party._

_After me and Lissa have taken showers, we move onto the next task; outfits. We decide on dresses for both of us, and Lissa's is a light green strapless dress that fits her form beautifully. I opt for a maroon one-strap dress. I know Adrian thinks red is my color. Shoes are a tough one, because we have about 10 pairs each. Lissa choses a pair of silver stripy sandals with just the slightest heel. I decide to be daring and wear a pair of black stilettos._

_We help each other with our make-up, as always, and Liss decides she wants to go for a subtle yet eye-popping look. I have her give me the smokey eyes she's so amazing at. She goes for pink shiny lipstick and i find my bright red. After some final touch ups on that, we find ourselves standing in front of the mirror, staring down our hair. We both leave our hair down, Liss letting her dry wavy, me straightening mine. After thats finished, I look at the time again. _'Eight thirty. Perfect.' _I grab the keys and we head out to Mason's room._

_We may have gotten there early, but we were definitely _not _the first to arrive. Liss knocks on the door and Dimka answers it. "Hey! I'm glad you could make it." He says with a face-splitting smile. I giggle and say "Well how could I not come?" "True, true…" he says shaking his head at me. I decide to go grab a drink, and Liss heads away to most likely search for Christian or dance._

_Two hours later, and the party is still going strong. By that point I was getting pretty drunk. I was standing with some people I didn't know, laughing my ass of at something. I'm starting to have a hard time standing, and every things to bright or to loud. I excuse myself and start to stumble away. I get lost and end up in Mason's bedroom. I trip in my suddenly too-tall heels and end up on his bed, lying down. I stay there for a few moments, resting, before Dimka stumbles in and lays next to me. "Ya know, Roza, I've always a=had a thing for ya." He says, words slightly slurred. I giggle and drunkenly reply "I've had for ya too Dimi." He starts to laugh and says "Well, ya know what people who-" he hiccups "-like each other do?" "Why don't you remind me?" I say in the most flirtatious voice I can manage while hammered._

_He says nothing back to me, he simply leans in and kisses me, hands on my hips. I return the kiss and tangle my hands is his soft brown hair. We make out for about 5 minutes before things progress. One thing led to another, and I woke up the next day, dressed and in my bed. I have a terrible hangover and a note tied to a rose sitting on my nightstand. I open the note;_

Rose,

If you're reading this, it means I managed the task of returning you(and your clothes) to your room.

I'm so sorry about what happened, and I hope we can stay friends.

It is true that I have a thing for you, but I'd never force you to be in a relationship with me.

I think i'm going to attempt to forget this as best I can, and I think you should too, unless its something you want to remember.

P.S. Ginger Ale helps hangovers.

Love, Dimka.

_*End Flashback*_

"Dimitri." I say. "What are you talking about?" Lissa asks, confused. I look her in the eyes and say "Dimitri has to be the father. Thats the only possibility right now. A shocked silence settles in the room, and I wonder if I should have waited to say that. I get up to walk away, and once I'm outside the door, a pair of welcome arms wrap around me. "It's ok Rose. I'm here. I'm not sure if you want to tell Dimka about him being a father or not, but I'm always here. I'll help you no matter what. If you decide to keep it, I'll do everything in my power to raise this child with love and care. And you know I have a lot of power." Adrian whispers, face buried in my hair. We walk over to a couch nearby, and he simply holds me while I cry into his jacket.


	5. Style Changes and Anger

Being 3.5 months pregnant isn't fun. Morning sickness, cravings, mood swings, gaining weight…. Yea, real great, right? Lucky, I have people around who will help me. It's been two weeks since finding out, and we've adapted well. So far my mother, Eddie, Adrian and Liss are the only ones who know. I don't want this getting around. The problem is how to tell Dimka that he's a father. Things are getting difficult because I've started showing. Ive worn nothing but sweatpants and t-shirts for two week. Not my style. "Roza!" Oh God help me. "Whats with the change of style? You used to be all jeans and tank tops." he says jokingly. When I don't laugh with him, a look of concern flashes in his eyes. "Rose, whats wrong?" You know he's serious because he didn't use my nickname. "I-I've just been feeling a bit sick lately." I say. I turn and jog away before he starts asking questions. "Damn it… I can't keep this from him.. Its his kid for god sake!" I say, aggravated.

I become aware of another person in the room when I hear a plate crash to the floor and break. I turn around to see a very shocked, very confused group, consisting of Mia, Mason, and… Jesse? What the hell? "Rose whats going on?" Mia asks, breaking the short but awkward silence. "What do you mean it's his… Kid…" Realization floods through her, and she starts to speak, but I cut her off. "Nothing. Forget it." "Thats why you passed out isn't it? You're pregnant aren't you!" Mason says. He starts out shocked, but he's yelling in anger by the end, no doubt mad about being left out of the people I told. "Mason it was for the best! I don't want this getting around, alright? Thats it!" I defend. I may be pregnant, but I'm not defenseless. "What so do you just not trust me anymore?" He claps his hands, shaking his head. "Way to go Rose. Way to _fucking _go. I thought you were smart enough to keep from getting knocked up. Guess I was wrong." He says as he storm away. Mia gives me a sympathetic look, then runs off after him, leaving me alone. _'Wait wheres Jess…' _I go into a state of panic right then. He got away. _'If I don't find him the whole school will know in a few hours!' _I decide to get a jump start, and tear off in a random direction, only to run into an angry and hurt Dimitri.

"Why the hell would you hide that? Its my kid! MY. OWN. KID!" I stumble backwards, scared. I'd never seen Dimka mad before, let alone hear him yell. I decide I'm not ready to tell him yet, and keep up my act. "Whats up dude? Did you drink at a party last night?" I ask, attempting to distract him. "Don't play dumb with me! You know EXACTLY whats up! Here, I'll prove it!" He jumps out and punches me in the stomach. I double over in pain. "Ha! You wouldn't have reacted like that before! It only hurt because you're pregnant!" "I-I… Dimka…" I say in a pained voice "Don't start, Rose. Do you have any goddamn idea how much it hurts to find out you're a father from _someone else_?" "What-" "Jess. He came and found me. He told me all of it." He says with angry tears making his eyes shine. "You know what? You can do this by yourself. You clearly planned on doing this alone. Don't let me get in the way." He tells me darkly.

My mood swings from angry to sad right then, so fast it was like someone flipping a switch. I start crying, and I can see that Dimitri feels guilty. Understandably, he thinks I'm crying because of him. My stomach still aches, and I vaguely wonder if he did any harm to the baby. "You know what Dimitri? You can stay the hell away from me. You have no problem going at the baby while she's in me, so why would you hesitate when she's born?" I tell him truthfully. My logic isn't all that fair, but he isn't being fair either. I start walking away, and once I get to the door, I stop and turn around to tell him one last thing;"I only waited because I wanted to tell you at the right time. And I can tell you that this was not it." I turn away before he can see the tears trailing down my face.

As soon as I'm out of Dimitri's sight, I run. I'm quick, even in my saddened state. I run into Adrian before long, and he kisses the tears off my face. "I'll find the others." Is all he says. Before long, I'm sitting in a room with my mother, Lissa, Adrian and Eddie. I told them all about what had happened, and I saw a lot of emotions running high with them. Eddie looked like he wanted to defend me, Liss wanted to comfort me, Janine was trying to find a way to make up with him, and Adrian looked… Like he wanted revenge. "That bastard had no right to hit you." Adrian says with a dark, almost murderous glint in his eyes. "He was probably just shocked and scared." Says my ever-calm mother. "That doesn't change the fact he resorted to physical violence!" Says Eddie, protective nature kicking in. "True, but he needs to take this in. Mrs. Hathaway is right about that much." Liss says in return in an effort to bring back some peace. "Look, at this point I don't want him around. I have a feeling he won't be much of a father." I say. No way was I letting them talk like I wasn't here. "Well, the next thing to do would be to go check with a doctor to make sure the baby hasn't been hurt." My mother says, looking exhausted all of a sudden. "Don't worry Mrs. Hathaway. I'll take Rose. If thats all right with you." Adrian says with a smile. Good Lord I missed seeing those. "Of course. Thank you." My mother says as she leans back and closes her eyes.

"Well, the baby is all ok, but it looks like you will have a bruise. Nothing to worry about." Says the doctor with a winning smile. Are doctors born with that or do they teach them in med school? "Ah yes. A battle mark." Adrian says, in an attempt at humor. He did manage a smile from me, and thats kind of hard to do at the moment. "Haha! Very funny. Is this daddy?" Asks the doc. Adrian's open his mouth, no doubt to say he isn't, but I cut him off. "Yes. It's a bit complex, but he is the father." I say honestly. I look over at him and find myself lost in his emerald green eyes. I can tell he's taking comfort in my eyes, too. The spell is broken when the doctor speaks again. "One other thing." The doc says with a mysterious look in his eyes. "And what might that be?" Adrian asks, clearly interested. "Well, most of the time this doesn't happen until the 5th month, but when I did the ultrasound, I could see the babies gender. Do you wish to know?" He says to us


End file.
